


A Presidential Pardon

by My_Alter_Ego



Series: Holidays [2]
Category: White Collar
Genre: Gen, My Thanksgiving Contribution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:46:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27710216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_Alter_Ego/pseuds/My_Alter_Ego
Summary: Peter and Neal discuss pardons and dumb birds.
Relationships: Peter Burke & Neal Caffrey
Series: Holidays [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2025623
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	A Presidential Pardon

It was Wednesday, the day before the United States Thanksgiving holiday that always was celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. Elizabeth was busy chopping onions and making bread cubes for the next day’s stuffing for the turkey defrosting in her refrigerator. She had declined Neal and Peter’s assistance, so they were hunkered down watching the nightly news. The broadcast ended with a human interest story that reran year after year. It was a photo-op for the current US President, a tradition that dated back to Abraham Lincoln. The Commander-in-Chief was about to pardon a turkey, and the mandated clemency for the bird would save its life. No doubt, in today’s climate, the politician would be lauded by animal activists and vegans everywhere.

“Maybe I should write a letter to the President and ask him to grant me a pardon instead of some dumb bird,” Neal mused.

Peter gave his partner a sardonic look. “Did you even vote for the man?”

Neal shrugged. “I was incarcerated at the time of his election, so I couldn’t cast my ballot. But, I’m sure Mozzie made up for my absence at the polls by voting in my stead at least a dozen times. So, in a small way, I guess you could say we helped him win the race.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “Just to be clear, Neal, the President pardons Thanksgiving birds, not jailbirds.”

“Well, like I said, I think they’re dumb creatures; they have wings but they can’t even fly,” Neal said in disgust.

“Unlike someone we know,” Peter quipped. “You should be thankful, Buddy, that you’re where you are right now. You’re getting a lot of perks for a convicted felon.”

Neal snorted! “Right—a piece of bulky ankle jewelry, horrendously bad coffee at my place of employment, and a workaholic boss who is a cruel slave driver.”

“Okay, so I get that you’re in a less than grateful mood right now,” Peter said. “Let’s pretend that the President did grant you a pardon, and instead of a flight-challenged turkey, you decided to soar away like an eagle. Tell me what you would be thankful for then.”

Neal didn’t need to give that much thought. “I’d be thankful that I’d be free to visit every museum in Europe and take in the opulence and grandeur of all the great masters once again.”

Peter sighed. “That’s what I thought, and that’s kinda scary. So, maybe we can scrap that scenario and you can visualize yourself sitting down at our table tomorrow and being thankful for the ‘dumb’ bird who, fortunately for us, wasn’t pardoned.”

“Whatever,” Neal muttered.


End file.
